Teaching is a career that many students take an interest in whether that’s in high school or college.  Many high schools offer teaching classes to students who may want to become teachers. For Kelly Colwell, history teacher, it was a little different. Colwell’s high school did offer a teaching course, but she did not take it. Instead, she found teaching out of college, getting inspiration from her college professor.

“​​I had a really great English professor. She learned our names and asked us about our personal lives. She had a passion for what she was teaching and so it just translated onto us,” Colwell said.

On the other hand, Alyssa Budd, 10, developed a love for history from her second grade teacher and eighth grade history teacher. 

“After college, I’m thinking about being a teacher. I want to teach high school and I feel like [teaching as a career] would give me a good idea of what teaching is like,” Budd said.

Budd enrolled in teaching as a career at the high school. She also plans to take teaching as an internship senior year. 

“I like teaching people stuff that I’m passionate about and I love history,” Budd said.

While Colwell was in college, she found her passion for teaching. Colwell shared one moment that reaffirmed her choice.

“In college, I got put into a SPED classroom and I decided it didn’t matter what the content was, I just genuinely do love helping students reach their goals and see the progression of their learning,” Colwell said.

During college, Colwell student taught at the high school as a history teacher. 

“I really loved [student teaching]. It was the first experience I had on the other side, truly being a teacher, not just being a student, and I felt very supported,” Colwell said.

After student teaching, Colwell was hired. This is her first year at the high school. Colwell shared the difference between student teaching and her job now.

“Everything is on you, compared to when you are a student teaching you’re still learning. You ask those questions like, ‘hey, I’m not really sure what to do here, here, and here’, it is totally on you to make those decisions and calls, but again, I still have the same support that I had, which is nice,” Colwell said.